FISHERS OF MEN
NATIONAL TOURNAMENT TRAIL
BERKLEY TEAM SERIES RULES AND REGULATIONS 2024
1. PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY
Open to all individuals, male and female, except;
Any angler who has competed in an “Elite Level” professional tournament or series during the 12 months prior to the Fishers of Men event they wish to enter. An Elite Level tournament series is defined as a tournament series in which all competitors must earn their way in by doing well in a lower level event or series. Any and all professional level tournaments that are available for entry to anyone who can pay an entry do not disqualify the competitors from Fishing in Fishers of Men Tournaments
* Fishers of Men reserves the right to reject any entries which we feel are not in the best interest of the tournament. *
Those under 18 years of age, not fishing with a parent, must have written permission from a parent or guardian. Each competitor in each tournament, including championships, must be a current Fishers of Men member in good standing. No membership is required for a legal substitute, as described in rule 16, fishing one tournament as a sub.
Fishers of Men division directors are eligible to compete in the division in which they are the director, provided they follow all of the guidelines set by the National Office. A copy of these guidelines will be made available, by the National Office, to anyone upon request.
Membership fees are as follows:
Individual membership $40* per person
Family Membership $60* per family
*Plus processing fees
Memberships are to be completed online or submitted to the division director prior to fishing your first tournament.
Individual Membership Benefits: Eligibility to compete in any Fishers of Men Tournament.
Family Membership Benefits: Eligibility for the member and any immediate family member residing in the same household to compete in any Fishers of Men Tournament. **Any junior partner can be included in a family membership, whether that junior is an immediate family member residing in the same household or not.
2. ENTRY FEES
Berkley Team Series regular season tournament entry fees shall be $150.00 per team per tournament, which includes Big Fish. Entry fees for divisional tournaments should be mailed to the division director, paid to the director in person, or paid online by the late fee deadline to avoid the $25 late fee. The late fee deadline for divisional tournaments will be the Friday 8 days prior the tournament, unless otherwise specified by the director. Final entry fee deadlines will be set by the division director.
No entries will be accepted the morning of the tournament.
There will be a fee charged on all checks returned for insufficient funds.
3. PRIZE PAYOUT
Prize money will be awarded following the weigh-in at each divisional event. One place will be paid out per five teams entered. The big bass pot will be paid to the team with the biggest bass of the tournament. Winners are responsible for any and all taxes on any moneys or prizes won. In the event of a tie, prize money for the place tied for and the subsequent place will be combined and evenly split between the tying teams.
4. BONUS BUCKS
The "Bonus Bucks" program is designed to increase tournament payout for those who wish to compete for a higher purse. This totally optional program features 100% payback of a $25 per team entry, in a 50%; 30%; 20% split, which will be paid to the three highest finishing teams who elect to enter the "Bonus Bucks" program. Bonus Bucks entries for the District Championship Tournaments and National Championships must be prepaid with the tournament entry. No Bonus Bucks entries will be accepted at the pretournament meeting for the District Championship Tournaments and National Championships. National Championship Bonus Bucks entry is $50.
5. OFF LIMITS
In all Fishers of Men Divisional Tournaments the tournament waters will be off limits from 5:30 pm Friday until the Saturday morning blast-off.
5a) DIVISIONAL TOURNAMENTS
Each team series division will be classified as either an “Off Limits With Practice” division, an “Off Limits With NO Practice” division, or a “No Off Limits” division. The division’s classification will be determined by the division director. Each division’s classification will remain unchanged for the entire season and will apply to all five of the regular season tournaments in that division.
1. “OFF LIMITS WITH PRACTICE” DIVISIONS
The tournament waters shall be off limits from 12:01am the Monday preceding the tournament until safe light on Friday morning. Friday will be an official practice day. The tournament waters will be off limits again from 5:30 pm Friday until blast-off. TEAMS MAY NOT WILLFULLY RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN ON THE TOURNAMENT WATERS DURING THE OFF-LIMITS PERIOD. Teams may not have the assistance of any non-competitor for the purpose of locating or catching fish on the official practice day or the competition day. (See exception for legal substitute in Rule 16) Any competitor found guilty of violating the off limits period will have their catch disqualified and face a disciplinary hearing before being allowed to fish any more on the Trail. If either of the team members is in violation of the off limits rule, both members of that team will be disqualified unless pre-approved as described below.
*-Exception-* It is permissible for one team member to compete in a tournament, alone or with a legal sub, even if his/her partner has been on the tournament water during off limits as long as (1) no information is shared between the partners, AND (2) the team requests approval from the tournament director for one team member to compete in the tournament while the other team member will not be competing and will be on the water during off limits, AND (3) the tournament director approves the request BEFORE THE OFF LIMITS PERIOD BEGINS.
2. “OFF LIMITS WITH NO PRACTICE” DIVISIONS
The tournament waters shall be off limits from 12:01am the Monday preceding the tournament until the tournament blastoff. TEAMS MAY NOT WILLFULLY RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN ON THE TOURNAMENT WATERS DURING THE OFF-LIMITS PERIOD. Teams may not have the assistance of any non-competitor for the purpose of locating or catching fish on the competition day. Any competitor found guilty of violating the off limits period will have their catch disqualified and face a disciplinary hearing before being allowed to fish any more on the Trail. If either of the team members is in violation of the off limits rule, both members of that team will be disqualified unless pre-approved as described below.
*-Exception-* It is permissible for one team member to compete in a tournament, alone or with a legal sub, even if his/her partner has been on the tournament water during off limits as long as (1) no information is shared between the partners, AND (2) the team requests approval from the tournament director for one team member to compete in the tournament while the other team member will not be competing and will be on the water during off limits, AND (3) the tournament director approves the request BEFORE THE OFF LIMITS PERIOD BEGINS.
3. “NO OFF LIMITS” DIVISIONS
In “No Off Limits” divisions there will be no off limits or official practice days for divisional events except during the pre-tournament meeting hours, in two-day events. Teams may not have the assistance of any non-competitor for the purpose of locating or catching fish on the competition day.
5b) DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENTS
The District Championship Tournaments will be 2-day tournaments. There will be 3 official practice days preceded by a 7-day off-limits period on the tournament waters. The tournament waters will be off limits again from 5:30 pm Thursday until the Friday morning blast-off.
5c) WILDCARD TOURNAMENT
The Wildcard tournaments will be a 2-day tournament. There will be 2 official practice days preceded by a 2-day off-limits period on the tournament waters. The tournament waters will be off limits again from 5:30 pm Thursday until the Friday morning blast-off.
5d) NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The National Championship Tournament will be a 3-day tournament following 5 official practice days, which will be preceded by a 12-day off limits period. The tournament waters will be off limits again from 5:30 pm Wednesday until the Thursday morning blast-off.
5e) ALL TOURNAMENTS
Teams may not solicit information from anyone who has been on the tournament waters during the off limits period. Teams may not have the assistance of any non-competitor for the purpose of locating or catching fish on the official practice days or the competition days. (See exception for legal substitute in Rule 16) The use of electronic communication devices for the purpose of sharing fishing information during tournament hours is prohibited. All teams assume responsibility of finding out the time and location of the tournament meeting from their respective director.
6. MANDATORY ATTENDACE MEETINGS
All Classic Team Series divisions will conduct pre-tournament meetings.
In some divisions, attendance at the meetings will be optional with a 50-point bonus (added to the team’s season points total). Other divisions will have mandatory attendance at pre-tournament meetings.
In divisions with mandatory attendance meetings, all teams must have a least one team member present at each meeting (from the time the keynote speaker is introduced until the end of the meeting) to be eligible to compete in that tournament
The division director will determine whether his/her division will have mandatory attendance or optional attendance meetings.
Divisions with mandatory attendance meetings will notify teams by posting on the “division page” and all “tournament details” pages no less than 30 days before each event.
If there is no “Mandatory Attendance Meetings” notice on the division page or tournament details pages, the meetings remain optional with a 50 points bonus.
No division will not have a combination of mandatory attendance and optional attendance meetings Within a season. All of the events in the current season will have either mandatory attendance meetings or optional attendance meetings.
7. TOURNAMENT HOURS
Tournament hours will be from safe light to 3:00 p.m. We reserve the right to assign flights and change hours if necessary.
8. LAUNCH SEQUENCE
Starting positions for teams who entered before the late fee deadline will be determined by either a drawing or a random number assignment by a computer prior to the meeting. Teams that enter the tournament at the meeting may be assigned blast-off numbers in the order in which they entered. In two-day divisional tournaments, participants not in attendance at the meeting (whether preregistered or not) will be assigned a starting position at the back of the line by the division director. Blast off numbers are not transferable. Competitors must keep the number they are assigned.
9. SAFETY
Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times. Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved personal floatation device, securely fastened, at all times while the boat is being propelled by the combustion engine. Furthermore, a kill switch must be fastened to the driver any time the combustion engine is propelling the boat. Failure to do so is grounds for disqualification of the offending team’s catch. Running lights must be operational and turned on at the blast-off of each tournament. Each competitor’s boat must be equipped with a livewell system capable of keeping a tournament limit of bass alive. Any boat equipped with a motor that exceeds the horse power rating of the boat according to the manufacturer is prohibited from being used in any Fishers of Men Tournament. All auxiliary gas tanks and bladder tanks that are not installed by the boat manufacturer are prohibited. Additional gas tanks that are factory options and installed by a manufacturer's authorized dealer are legal. Boats that do not have factory-installed gas tanks are restricted to a maximum of 18 gallons of gasoline in tanks that meet U.S. Coast Guard regulations. Gas tanks must be properly secured or strapped in the boat. During the tournament, no portable gas tanks or containers capable of holding gasoline can be placed anywhere on the tournament waters or shoreline for use by any tournament competitor.
10. SPORTSMANSHIP
Each contestant is expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, and conservation. No team may fish within 50 yards of any other boat which is anchored with the trolling motor up. Furthermore, no team may fish within 25 yards of any other boat without the other boater’s permission. Permission may not be granted to any team at the exclusion of any other team. Utilizing “Spot-lock” or similar technology that holds a boat position using the trolling motor is NOT considered “anchored with the trolling motor up”, as mentioned above. No hole sitting by a non-competitor or by another competitor, to aid a tournament participant will be allowed. Violators will have their catch disqualified.
11. TACKLE AND FISHING METHODS
Only artificial baits may be used. No live or cut bait is permitted (pork baits are permitted). All bass must be caught alive in a legal and sporting manner. No snagging. Each competitor may only use 1 rod at a time. No more than 1 line in the water at a time per angler. Trolling with the combustion motor is not permitted. No competitor may leave the boat to land or catch fish. Lures that have been banned by state or local authorities, are not allowed in Fishers of Men tournaments in the areas where the ban is in place.
12. STATE AND FEDERAL GAME REGULATIONS
All participants are expected to abide by all state and federal laws and game regulations. Any team who intentionally violates a law or regulation in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage will have their catch disqualified. Bringing short fish or slot fish to the scales will be penalized as described in rule 12. In the case of multiple governing authorities, the strictest law is applicable. Any participant who consumes, or is under the influence of alcoholic beverages, stimulants or depressants during any Fishers of Men function will have their catch disqualified. (Prescribed medications taken per doctor’s instructions are excluded)
13. SCORING
A limit of 5 bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted bass) may be weighed in. Minimum lengths will be set at the discretion of the division director but at no time will be less than the legal limit. Lengths will be measured with mouth closed. A short fish or slot fish brought to the scales will not be weighed, and will result in a 1-pound penalty. Dead fish will be penalized .25 (1/4) pound. The dead fish penalty will also apply to any fish weighed as a Big Fish if that fish is dead. All culling must be done at the time the 6th fish is caught; no team may continue fishing with more than the tournament limit in the livewell at any time during the tournament, with the exception of dead fish that is not included in their limit. The penalty for possessing more than 5 fish, bringing more than 5 fish to the scales, or culling at the ramp will be 1 pound. That 1 pound will be deducted from the total weight of the team’s best 5 fish. On any water where State or local laws prohibit culling or impose limits of less than 5 fish, the state or local laws will replace the above as the rule.
14. EMERGENCIES
Competitors shall remain with their partners in the boat at all times during the tournament, except in the event of sickness or brief excursions for "nature calling", severe storm or other such hazard. It is permitted for a competitor to leave the boat for marina services. On competition days, competitors may leave the boat to dislodge it, but only to return the boat in the direction it came from. Leaving the boat, on a competition day, to advance it is not permitted. (In falling water conditions, a team may leave the boat to advance it only to return from water they accessed without leaving the boat.) If for any reason either or both team members decide to leave the tournament waters early, both members shall bear full responsibility for notifying a tournament official. If one team member leaves the water early, he/she must notify the director before returning to fish and the other team member may continue fishing in his/her absence. In the event that he/she does not intend to return, his/her partner may continue fishing alone for the remainder of the tournament hours. In case of a breakdown, one partner may return with fish by another tournament boat or a boat designated by FOM tournament staff while the other partner is permitted to stay with the disabled boat.
15. WEIGH-IN PROCEDURES
Weigh-in will be on a first come first serve basis. Once fish have been presented to a tournament official to be weighed-in all fish become the property of the F.O.M.N.T.T. and no additional fish may be brought to the scales. Bags will be limited in order to avoid a bottleneck at the weigh-in tanks. Teams not weighing any fish are still required to check in with tournament officials in order to account for all teams. Once a team member has checked in or left the boat for the purpose of checking in, neither team member may fish or continue fishing.
16. AFTERNOON CHECK-IN AND LATE PENALTIES
All teams must be back and checked in by their appointed time. Competitors who are not checked in by their check-in deadline will be penalized at a rate of 1 pound per minute, up to 15 minutes at which time their catch will be disqualified. The contestants will retain their participation points for their yearly total. Late penalties will be deducted from "Big Fish" weight as well as total weight. The check-in procedure may be a staff person with a check-in list, a check-in board with numbered chips, or other process as deemed necessary by the director. It is each competitor’s responsibility to know their check-in time and the check in procedure.
17. CHANGE OF PARTNERS & USE OF SUBS
A permanent partner change may only be made prior to the start of the teams second
tournament within the division with all points retained. In the event of a team split where
both original partners obtain new partners to continue competing in the division, both
new teams shall be entitled to the points earned by the original team in their first
tournament. A participant may fish solo in as many tournaments as becomes necessary
and retain all points. The following may serve as a substitute in a tournament at any time
while still retaining all points:
- Grandparent (includes Great Grandparents)
- Parent
- Spouse
- Sibling
- Child
- Grandchild (includes Great Grandchildren)
- Aunt (includes Great Aunt)
- Uncle (includes Great Uncle)
- Niece
- Nephew
- First Cousin
- Any in-law of the above relations
- Any youth who has not reached his/her nineteenth birthday on or before December 31 of the current year
Adult/Junior teams and Male/Female teams:
To be eligible to earn the National Championship berths through the District Championship or Wildcard Tournaments, as described in rules 23 and 24, the team must compete in a minimum of 3 regular season Team Series events in any division or combination of divisions. They must compete with the original members or substitutes that maintain their adult/junior or male/female status.
Any member of your division who has competed in at least three of your division’s regular season tournaments during the current season may serve as a legal substitute in any Berkley Team Series post season tournament.
At any of the Team Series District Championship Tournaments and the Wildcard Tournament, any angler who has qualified to compete in the tournament may serve as a legal substitute for any team competing in the tournament. Prior to competition, the team must declare which angler’s team they are representing for the purpose of advancing to the National Championship.
A legal substitute may serve as a sub in as many tournaments as needed, however, before serving as a sub for a second time, he/she must become a member.
A substitute may not fish alone. In multiple day events a team may use any combination of original partners and legal subs to have two anglers in the boat each day. One of the team members must always be one of the original partners.
At least one of the original team members must compete in the tournament for the team to receive tournament points.
No other substitutions will be allowed. Hardship cases may be appealed to the National Office. Partner disagreements do not constitute hardship cases.
18. PROTEST AND POLYGRAPH TEST
Any protest must be submitted in writing to the tournament director within 15 minutes of the close of the weigh-in. In any case where a written protest is filed, a team is disqualified, or an entry is refused by the director, it is required that the director must contact the National Office before making a final ruling. The Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail reserves the right to give a polygraph or other truth verification test to any participant at any time. This test does not have to be administered on site and may be set up by the tournament director at his discretion. All participants agree to abide by the results of any polygraph or other truth verification test administered. In the event of a protest and an off-site polygraph or other truth verification test the tournament director will have the option of mailing all the checks to the teams in the money pending the outcome of the test.
19. DIVISIONAL SEASON AND “DROP” TOURNAMENTS
A division may conduct up to six regular season tournaments in a season. Teams will earn points at each of their division’s tournaments. Only the points from each team’s top five finishes will be counted in that team’s season cumulative score, allowing them to “drop” their lowest score.
20. CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
In each divisional tournament, the winning team will receive 250 points, 2nd place 249 points, 3rd place 248 points, and so on. In the event of a tie in a tournament both teams will receive the points for the place they are tied at, and the subsequent place will remain vacant. (Example: A tie for 3rd place would result in both 3rd place teams receiving 248 points. The next team behind them would be the 5th place team and would receive 246 points.) Teams not weighing any fish will receive 1 less point than the last place team(s) with fish. Furthermore, all teams who attend the pre-tournament meeting (whether entered in the tournament or not) will receive an additional 50 points, which will be applied to the teams’ cumulative point total for the year, for the purpose of qualifying for the District Championship Tournament or Wildcard tournament. To earn these points, at least one competing team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting. A non-competing substitute can NOT represent a team for the purpose of obtaining the 50 meeting points. Tournament points and meeting points will run through all regularly scheduled tournaments, excluding “Open” tournaments, within that division and may not be transferred to any other division. There will be a maximum of 250 meeting points that a team can accumulate per season, per division.
21. DIVISION POINTS CHAMPIONS
The team having the highest cumulative point total, at the end of the regular season, in each division will be declared the Division Points Champions for that division, provided they have entered at least three tournaments within that division. They will receive an automatic berth in the next Team Series National Championship Tournament. In the event a division has cancellations and has less than three tournaments, there will be no points champions for that division. All ties in the cumulative year end standings will be broken by season cumulative net weight. That net weight will include only the weights in the five tournaments included in the team’s best five scores. In divisions with less than six tournaments, all tournament scores from each team’s season will count toward their season points total.
22. ADULT/JUNIOR AND MALE/FEMALE TEAMS
An Adult/Junior team is defined as a team made up of one adult member who has reached his/her nineteenth birthday on or before December 31 of the current year, and one or more members who have not reached his/her nineteenth birthday on or before December 31 of the current year. Adult Junior teams may practice and/or compete in Team Series events with more than one junior member in the boat in any team series event, but only two of the members are allowed to be fishing at any time. Substitutes are not permitted to replace or become a third member of a team. For a team to legally compete with multiple junior anglers, all of the junior anglers must be a part of the original team.
To be eligible to earn the National Championship berths as the top adult/junior or male/female team at the District Championship or Wildcard Tournament, as described in rules 23 and 24, the team must compete in a minimum of 3 regular season Team Series events in any division or combination of divisions. Furthermore, they must compete in all of those events with their original members or substitutes that maintain their adult/junior or male/female status. Only an adult can sub for the adult, only a junior can sub for a junior, only a male can sub for a male, and only a female can sub for a female. See rule 16 for a list of legal substitutes. In the event that a legal sub is unavailable, a member may fish alone.
Teams who earn a berth in the National Championship as the highest finishing Adult/Junior or Male/Female team at the District Championships, the Wildcard tournament, or in the Legacy Championship must compete in the National Championship with their original partner or a substitute that doesn’t change their Adult/Junior or Male/Female status. In the event that a legal sub is unavailable, a member may fish alone.
23. DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP AND WILDCARD TOURNAMENT ELIGIBILITY
All teams that have entered at least 3 of the regular season tournaments within their district will be eligible to compete in the District Championship in their district and/or the Wildcard tournament.
All anglers who have entered at least 5 divisional tournaments in any division or combination of divisions, and attended at least 3 pre-tournament meetings, in any division or combination of divisions, will be eligible to enter any District Championship tournament anywhere in the country and/or the Wildcard tournament at the end of that season. Those anglers may enter as many District Championships as they wish.
In the event that an angler has qualified to fish a District Championship and the Wildcard tournament, as described above, but is not on a team that has entered enough Division tournaments to qualify, that angler must have a partner that qualifies as a legal substitute as described in rule #17, or fish alone.
All Fishers of Men team series division directors are automatically eligible to enter in any District Championship Tournament and/or the Wildcard tournament except the one in their own district. Directors are allowed to compete in the District Championship within their own district if they earn eligibility the same as all other competitors, provided they follow all of the guidelines set by the National Office. A copy of these guidelines will be made available, by the National Office, to anyone upon request.
A director’s tournament partner for the District Championship Tournament must be the partner he/she fished the season with, or an angler who qualifies as a legal substitute or is approved by the National Office prior to entry.
24. DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The District Championship Tournament will be a 2-day tournament. There will be 3 official practice days preceded by a 7-day off-limits period on the District Championship waters. All teams are required to attend the meeting to be held the evening prior to the first day of competition. (at least one team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting). Those teams who do not have at least one member in attendance at the meeting will be declared ineligible to compete.
Teams may practice from two boats on the official practice days.
District Championship entry fees will be $200.00. Deadline for avoiding the late fee will be posted in the tournament details section of the Fishers of Men website. The final entry deadline for each District Championship will be midnight, the Saturday before the event. Bonus Bucks entries for the District Championship must be prepaid with the tournament entry. No Bonus Bucks entries will be accepted at the pretournament meeting.
There will be 1 Big Fish paid each day. The top 20% of the competing teams by cumulative weight in this tournament will advance to the National Championship Tournament. In addition, there will be up to four bonus teams in each District Championship that will earn berths in the National Championship. They are; the highest finishing Adult/Junior team, the highest finishing Male/Female team, the highest finishing registered Bass Cat owner team, and the highest finishing registered Mercury owner team.
To be eligible to earn the berth as the highest finishing Bass Cat Team, one of the competing team members must be the registered owner of a Bass Cat Boat and the team must be competing in the District Championship in a Bass Cat Boat.
To be eligible to earn the berth as the highest finishing Mercury, one of the competing team members must be the registered owner of a Mercury Motor and the team must be competing in the District Championship in a boat powered by a Mercury Motor.
To be eligible to compete for the National Championship spots as the highest finishing Adult/Junior team and the highest finishing Male/Female team, you must compete in the District Championship with your original partner or a substitute which does not change your Adult/Junior or Male/Female team status and must have done so throughout the regular season. An angler fishing solo is not eligible to earn the top adult/junior spot or the top male/female spot.
In the event that one or more of the, above described, bonus teams finish in the top 20% of the field, that team will not take one of the top 20% berths in the National Championship, which means the first team out of the top 20% would get the berth.
In the event of a tie for first place in a District Championship Tournament, the team who weighed in the largest number of fish during the District Championship Tournament will be declared the winner. If all of the tying teams weighed in the same number of fish, then the team who had the heaviest single day weight during the event will be declared the winner. In the event there is still a tie, a fish-off will determine the winner, if possible. The details of the fish off will be arranged by the tournament director.
In the event that bad weather forces the cancellation of one day of competition, the standings from one day of competition will be considered the final standings for the event.
25. WILDCARD TOURNAMENT
The Wildcard Tournament will be a 2-day tournament. There will be 2 official practice days preceded by a 2-day off-limits period on the tournament waters. All teams are required to attend the meeting to be held the evening prior to the first day of competition. (at least one team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting). Those teams who do not have at least one member in attendance at the meeting will be declared ineligible to compete.
Teams may practice from two boats on the official practice days. The Wildcard tournament entry fee will be $200.00. The entry deadline for the Wildcard tournament will be midnight, the Sunday before the event. Bonus Bucks entries for the Wildcard tournament must be prepaid with the tournament entry. No Bonus Bucks entries will be accepted at the pretournament meeting. There will be 1 Big Fish paid each day.
The top 20% of the competing teams by cumulative weight in this tournament will advance to the National Championship Tournament. In addition, there will be up to four bonus teams that will earn berths in the National Championship. They are; the highest finishing Adult/Junior team, the highest finishing Male/Female team, the highest finishing registered Bass Cat owner team, and the highest finishing registered Mercury owner team.
To be eligible to earn the berth as the highest finishing Bass Cat Team, one of the competing team members must be the registered owner of a Bass Cat Boat and the team must be competing in the Wildcard Tournament in a Bass Cat Boat.
To be eligible to earn the berth as the highest finishing Mercury, one of the competing team members must be the registered owner of a Mercury Motor and the team must be competing in the Wildcard Tournament in a boat powered by a Mercury Motor.
To be eligible to compete for the National Championship spots as the highest finishing Adult/Junior team and the highest finishing Male/Female team, you must compete in the Wildcard tournament with your original partner or a substitute which does not change your Adult/Junior or Male/Female team status and must have done so throughout the regular season. An angler fishing solo is not eligible to earn the top adult/junior spot or the top male/female spot.
In the event that one or more of the, above described, bonus teams finish in the top 20% of the field, that team will not take one of the top 20% berths in the National Championship, which means the first team out of the top 20% would get the berth.
In the event of a tie for first place in the Wildcard tournament, the team who weighed in the largest number of fish during the Wildcard tournament will be declared the winner. If all of the tying teams weighed in the same number of fish, then the team who had the heaviest single day weight during the event will be declared the winner. In the event there is still a tie, a fish-off will determine the winner, if possible. The details of the fish off will be arranged by the tournament director.
In the event that bad weather forces the cancellation of one day of competition, the standings from one day of competition will be considered the final standings for the event.
26. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ELIGIBILITY
Below are the teams that will qualify to enter the Berkley Team Series National Championship:
- Defending National Champions (provided they fish at least 3 regular season Berkley Team Series division tournaments during the season)
- Points Champions in each Berkley Team Series Division
- Top 20% from each District Championship
- Top Male/Female team from each District Championship
- Top Adult/Junior team from each District Championship
- Top Bass Cat Owner team from each District Championship
- Top Mercury Motor Owner team from each District Championship
- Top 20% from the Wildcard
- Top Male/Female team from the Wildcard
- Top Adult/Junior team from the Wildcard
- Top Bass Cat Owner team from the Wildcard
- Top Mercury Motor Owner team from the Wildcard tournament.
- Top 15% or top 10 (whichever is greater) from the Legacy Series Championship
- Any team that competes in a minimum of four (4) Berkley Team Series District Championships or three (3) Berkley Team Series District Championships and the Wildcard Tournament. (see rule 22 for District Championship and Wildcard eligibility)
Teams who decline their invitation will be replaced by the next team in line by the same method of qualifying.
27. 2024 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The National Championship Tournament will be a 3-day tournament following 5 official practice days, which will be preceded by a 12-day off limits period. All participants must be current members of Fishers of Men. Entry fee will be $200.00. Deadline for entry will be posted in the tournament details section of the Fishers of Men website.
Teams who earn a berth in the National Championship as the highest finishing Adult/Junior or Male/Female team at the District Championships, the Wildcard tournament, or in the Legacy Championship must compete with their original partner or a substitute that doesn’t change their Adult/Junior or Male/Female status or fish solo.
Bonus Bucks entry for the National Championship will be $50 and must be prepaid with the tournament entry. No Bonus Bucks entries will be accepted at the pretournament meeting.
Teams are NOT PERMITTED to practice from two boats on the official practice days.
All teams are required to attend the meeting to be held the evening prior to the first day of competition. (at least one team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting). Those teams who do not have at least one member in attendance at the meeting will be declared ineligible to compete.
After two days of competition the field of competitors will be cut to the top 20%. All teams who make the cut and compete on day three will receive a check.
There will be 1 big fish position paid each day. The winning team will earn an automatic berth in the following year’s National Championship Tournament, provided they fish at least 3 Fishers of Men divisional tournaments during that year.
In the event of a tie for first place in the National Championship Tournament, the team who weighed in the largest number of fish during the National Championship Tournament will be declared the winner. If all of the tying teams weighed in the same number of fish, then the team who had the heaviest single day weight during the event will be declared the winner. In the event there is still a tie, a fish-off will determine the winner, if possible. The details of the fish off will be arranged by the tournament director.
In the event that bad weather forces the cancellation of day 1 and/or day 2 of competition, there will be no cut, and all teams will fish the final day. In the event that bad weather forces the cancellation of day 3, the standings from day 1 and/or day 2 will be considered the final standings for the event.
There will be a 1-day tournament held on Saturday for all National Championship competitors who do not make the cut to compete in the final day of the Championship.
28. LIABILITY INSURANCE
All members must carry a minimum of $100,000 of liability insurance on any boat they use during any Fishers of Men Tournament. Failure to do so, or reporting of false information will result in disqualification of catch. Participants must include the company name and either the policy number or the name of the agent binding the coverage on the entry form for each tournament.
29. VIOLATION OF RULES AND DISQUALIFICATION
The violation of a tournament rule by either team member may result in weight loss, the loss of weight up to a particular time in the tournament day (eligible for a restart), loss of weight for the entire day, disqualification for the entire tournament or, in an extreme circumstance, ineligibility to participate in future FOM events.
If a team is disqualified from a tournament their weight will be recorded as 0 lb. However, they will still receive tournament points as if they had just caught no fish. If the director feels that their violation was a willful attempt to gain an unfair advantage or to intentionally cheat, then the director has the right to refuse entry from that team or team members in the future and may inform all other Fishers of Men directors of the situation.
30. CHANGE OF RULES
These rules will remain unchanged for the current season unless unforeseen circumstances create a situation where changes are absolutely necessary. The Fishers of Men National Office reserves the right to amend and/or adjust these rules if necessary.
31. RULES ENFORCEMENT
It is the tournament director’s responsibility to enforce all of these rules as they are written. Infractions of any rule may result in a penalty or disqualification of catch. In any issue not specifically covered in these rules the director must contact the National Office before making a ruling.